Friday, August 29, 2008

I first noticed Barack Obama when David Brooks wrote about him in the New York Times in October, 2006. I posted Gary Hart's New York Times review of his book The Audacity of Hope, then bought the First Edition and read it myself. It was part of what led me to change my party affiliation and vote in the Colorado caucus as a Democrat, going to the county convention and becoming a Hillary Clinton delegate.

Being a Clinton delegate made Mary happy, since she was a strong supporter. And I could tell my GOP friends that I was part of Rush Limbaugh's operation chaos.

But now that he is the nominee, I'm not at all sure what to do. Going to several DNC events this week and watching what I thought was his very impressive acceptance speech last night has created uncertainty in me of what I'm being called to do.

I'm going to watch the GOP convention and then decide. One thing is for certain: I'm a stronger believer than ever in the power of the Colorado caucus to amplify the voice of the common person. I'll be going door to door in my neighborhood for one party or the other starting September 7.

The Rocky Mountain Roundup yesterday on global poverty was interesting but depressing, especially the morning session.

The Denver 2008 Convention Executive Committee conducted this series of ten issue-oriented, "nonpartisan" roundtables were interesting, but in fell short of what they might have been with better leadership.

Participants in the Roundtables were drawn from the thousands of dignitaries in Denver during the convention week, from individuals across the country and the world by invitation, and from citizens in the local Denver-area community.

Democrats for Life held a very well attended town hall meeting yesterday. It wasn't reported this morning in the local Denver papers, but maybe that's not surprising given that it's not on the groups own website this morning. I was disappointed Denver's Archbishop Charles Chaput was not invited to be a panel member, since his new book Render Unto Ceasar has just come out.

Do you suppose any of the participants will join us this Sunday (Aug 31) for Denver Speakers Corner? I hope you will. The Rocky Mountain Roundup will be my topic when it's my turn on the soapbox. For more info and optional RSVP, see http://cocacop.meetup.com/2

I'll be at Socrates Cafe tonight. Do you enjoy good discussion? Then join us! A few of us started the first meeting in Denver the Friday after 9/11, and it's still going. It meets each Friday, 6 p.m. at Panera Bread, 13th and Grant.

When the Friday group resisted having any kind of agenda or format (I say their rules are harder to figure out because they pretend they have no rules)some of us in that original meeting started one on Thursday nights.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hope you'll join us next Sunday, and that you'll bring a friend or two. Please RSVP at http://cocacop.meetup.com/2/calendar/8517344 While you are there, forward a few invitations to friends or post information about the meeting on your favorite bulletin board, Meetup.com makes that easy to do, just click "Promote!"

After our great write up in the Rocky Mountain News we expect that there may be some media coverage of our meeting this Sunday as a follow up to the DNC. A reporter from the Guardian newspaper in London stopped by last Sunday and said he'd be back.

Finally, I'm organizing a new Franklin Circle for 50+ men and women who are serious about being successful in "retirement". We'll start with a discussion of Art Linkletter's book, "How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life." Email me if you'd like an invitation to our first meeting.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Denver, CO-- Parking all day for the Democratic National Convention is only $5 in the Denver Center for the Perfoming Arts, a discount from the normal $8.

I parked there yesterday to attended the Education and Retirement Security Roundtables, and I've got tickets for Wednesday's sessions on International Relations. Denver's Mayor John Hickenlooper stopped by both sessions yesterday to modestly remind everyone that the Roundtables were his idea: "We wanted this to be a meaningful convention." http://www.2008rmr.org/tickets.asp

There was no real diversity of thought at either session. It wasn't really so much a discussion as it was a mass interview, live sound-bites in what was called a crescendo format.

It was announced that since the convention was green there was no written agenda. Sound through out each session and annoying picture and names of each speaker rotated on large screen TVs.

Turnout at both sessions I attended was light, which surprised Mayor Hickenlooper, “We thought we were sold out,” he said at the afternoon Retirement Security session, “traffic must be really bad.”

The gist of the education session: what’s needed now is better testing (“it’s not wrong to teach to the test if you have the right test” said Colorado’s former governor Roy Romer, who has since been Superintendent of Schools in California, now heading Bill Gates “Stronger Schools”), better teachers using 21st century classrooms who are better compensated, with better principals and administrators. Someone from the Piton Foundation asked one of the few questions from the audience that was allowed: “These are the same things we’ve heard for the last 25 years, what’s really changed?”

If I could have asked a question it would have been, “Are we too focused on schools? Instead of stronger schools, don’t we need life-long, self-directed learners? How do we become a learning society, instead of a hedonistic society that rarely reads a book?”

The Retirement Security session message: “Save Social Security, reform pension plans to go back to defined benefit payments.” I asked, “Is the problem that we need to retire the concept of retirement? It’s a recent development, becoming popular in World War II when retirement plans were used as a way to get around wage freezes. From Ben Franklin to Art Linkletter, retirement has just not been the American way.” My question got a surprisingly positive respnse from the panel. “I never want to retire.” “Retirement kills.”

Denver Speakers Corner went very, very well Sunday. I'll post the video as soon as kinks with Google Video are resolved. A reporter for the Guardian Newspaper in London stopped by to tell us about Hyde Park: "there is one member of the House of Lords who attends regularly and speaks there, you really never know who you'll see."

Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher has led the last two sessions, promises to attend regularly in the future and bring some of his Regis students. It's really a lot of fun. Right now, while it's on your mind RSVP for next Sunday if you'd like to be on the steering committee, or just show up next Sunday and help us get this off to a good start, OK? More info and RSVP at http://cocacop.meetup.com/2

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